From gummy skulls and chocolate eyeballs to Snickers, Skittles and M&M's, Halloween is basically the sweetest holiday of the year.
But here's some news that might give you a fright: Extreme weather has dealt a major blow to the sugar industry worldwide this year, which could cost you more this Halloween.
"This has been a very tough year for global sugar," John Davis, chief meteorologist at Everstream Analytics, told FOX Weather. "If you look at the top 10 producing countries this year, six of them have had extreme weather. And the ramification of that is higher prices for anything that you use sugar for, including candy."
Thailand, the fourth-largest sugar producer, has cut production by almost a quarter due to drought, according to the FOX report. India, the U.S. and Europe -- which represent the second, sixth and third top sugar producers -- also all suffered flooding.
"Of course, all of the extreme weather that we've had on a global basis, it has come at the wrong time," Davis told FOX Weather. "If you get heavy rains during harvest, that interferes with the harvest activity and damages the crop overall. But it all comes back to the amount and frequency of extreme weather that we've had on a global basis."
Davis said the extreme weather is expected to decrease the global sugar supply by 10% to 15% over the 2023-2024 growing season. And that could translate to higher prices for consumers on everything from candy and cookies to soft drinks and ice cream.
According to the International Sugar Organization, which tracks daily changes in the market, sugar prices are currently at a 12-year-high.
At the same time, Todd Scott, senior communications manager at The Hershey Company, told FOX Weather over the summer that the price of sugar "does not have an impact on our Halloween."
Despite any potential price hike, it appears shoppers are willing to dig into their wallets to celebrate Halloween with all the treats. According to the National Retail Federation's annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, consumers nationwide are expected to spend a total of $3.6 billion on candy alone this Halloween.